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The Official Downton Abbey Christmas Cookbook

KITCHEN NOTES

For this book, I’ve worked with original recipes in

cookbooks from the nineteenth and early twenti-

eth centuries, with one excursion into the earliest

cookery book in the English language. Although

Mrs. Patmore projects a humble background, she

would have had to be esteemed to work in a large

English country house like Downton Abbey, and

given her age, her training would have come from

the books of such nineteenth-century authors

as Eliza Acton, Isabella Beeton, and Charles

Francatelli, among others. Nearly all of the rec-

ipes in this book would have been familiar to her

with the exception of some post–World War I

discoveries, such as the spinach balls on page 144.

The recipes in the following pages will give

you the opportunity to host a Downton-inspired

Christmas with dishes that are still relevant

today. Some of them have hardly changed over

the last hundred years; others have evolved to suit

the contemporary need for a lighter option. For

example, vegetables are cooked for a shorter time,

and béchamel is not used nearly as much as it was

even twenty years ago. As a child of the 1980s, I

recall that many of our family dinners came with

a layer of white sauce, just as suppers did in the

Downton era.

When it comes to a Downton-style Christ-

mas, it is all about the main roast, the trimmings,

and the puddings, and I’ve given options for

each of these elements. There are festive fish

dishes, impressive birds, flavorsome game, and

emblematic beef. Christmas pudding, cake, and

other celebratory sweets are plentiful,so take your

pick and savor the seasonal flavors of warm spices,

candied citrus peel, and dried fruits. And whether

you are just back from a wintry holiday walk or

gathering around an outdoor fire basket, you will

be ready to sip a cup of wassail or other liquor-

laced wintertime punch.

Christmas is a magical time with an intricate

and centuries-old history, and details from that

fascinating past are woven throughout this book.

So as you select the dishes for your holiday menu,

read about their origins and you will enjoy your

Downton Christmas even more.

INGREDIENTS

Here are some ingredient guidelines to make

using this book easier and to ensure greater suc-

cess when making the recipes.

DAIRY AND EGGS

Butter: All butter is unsalted and must contain

a minimum of 80 percent butterfat. (This is the

minimum required by law for any product labeled

“butter” in the United States.) Butter sold in

Europe and so-called European-style butters sold

in the United States have a higher butterfat con-

tent, usually 82 to 86 percent.

Buttermilk: In the past, buttermilk was the liq-

uid left behind after churning butter, but today